Benvenue Medical's Kiva vertebral compression fracture treatment system and Blazer vertebral augmentation system were named by Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management as innovative minimally invasive treatments for VCFs.

18th Annual Ambulatory Surgery Centers — Improving Profitability and Business and Legal Issues Conference

According to a report by the Salt Lake Tribune, the U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking to dismiss one-third of its charges against a Utah orthopedic surgeon who was accused of prescribing millions of pain pills to patients without legitimate medical needs.

According to a report by ABC News, Florida authorities report that 34 pain patients treated just in 2011 by Joseph Hernandez, MD, are dead and they are considering pressing charges against him for those deaths.

According to a St. Jude Medical news release, the company has received FDA clearance for its Epiducer Neurostimulation lead delivery system for pain management.

A U.S. Army task force has recommended shifting from simply dispensing pain medications to using a much wider armamentarium of pain management techniques, according to a report by the Marine Corps Times.

As part of its crackdown on pill mills, Ohio is now requiring physicians engaged in pain treatments to take continuing medical education courses on pain management, according to a report by PainWeek.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, physicians often struggle to determine whether patients who seek pain medication are exaggerating their symptoms.

Q: Is single-specialty pain management still viable?

 

Amy Mowles, president & CEO of Mowles Medical Management: There's a big misconception, even from people in the know, about pain management. The short answer is: Single-specialty pain management is definitely still viable.

A release from the Institute of Medicine describes a major report on the future of pain management, recommending that generalists should handle most pain patients while pain specialists limit themselves to the most complex ones.